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Garrett’s Space
T
hree years ago, in
September of 2017,
I lost my brother,
Garrett Halpert, to suicide.
Throughout his short but
impactful life, he was a
dedicated brother, son, best
friend, poet and listener.
Though he struggled fre-
quently with
his own mental
health, when
you were with
him, he always
made you
feel as if you
were the most
important per-
son in the world.
Unfortunately, my broth-
er’
s death is not an anomaly.
According to the Centers
for Disease Control and
Prevention, suicide is the
second leading cause of
death for youth and young
adults in Michigan between
the ages of 10 to 24. In the
Ann Arbor and Detroit area
alone, we have witnessed
several young adults die by
suicide over the course of the
past three years — many of
them young Jewish men, like
my brother. The COVID-
19 pandemic and resulting
isolating period of lockdown
has reminded us once again
of the importance of mental
health support, and the dire
consequences that occur
when people cannot access
this care.
When someone struggles
with alcohol addiction, there
are welcoming spaces, such
as rehabilitation centers,
to seek recovery. But when
someone struggles drasti-
cally with mental health, the
options are often limited to
outpatient therapy sessions,
stints in the psychiatric
emergency room or stays in
prohibitively expensive long-
term residential facilities.
After my brother’
s suicide,
this gap in the mental health
system became painfully
clear to my parents, Julie
and Scott Halpert. Together,
they have founded Garrett’
s
Space, a nonprofit dedicated
to supporting young peo-
ple’
s mental health. They
have also joined forces with
the University of Michigan
Depression Center and
dozens of seasoned mental
health professionals in the
area who have recognized
this same critical need for
more expansive mental
health support options for
our young people.
My parents’
end goal for
Garrett’
s Space is ambitious
but essential: an affordable
residential center dedicat-
ed to long-term in-patient
recovery and support for
young adults dealing with
emotional challenges. The
center will be set in nature,
with a focus on holistic cop-
ing strategies, such as peer
support, yoga, meditation
and music, outlets that my
brother found great solace in
during his times of difficulty.
It also will provide support
to parents whose children
are struggling and ways to
cope with broken relation-
ships.
For the summer of 2020, a
group of my brother’
s friends
were planning an all-day,
in-person outdoor fundraiser
to help raise money for the
center. When the original
event had to be canceled
due to the pandemic, one
of my brother’
s closest and
most beloved friends, Mario
Sulaksana, stepped up. A
musician himself, he came
to my parents with an idea
for a 24-hour online fund-
raiser with a variety of dif-
ferent performers, speakers
and classes. In just under
five weeks, I have been so
impressed to see him realize
this ambitious goal.
On Sept. 4, at noon,
we will begin a 24-hour
live-stream event,
Madeline
Halpert
Garrett Halpert, of blessed memory.
MADELINE HALPERT
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